


The Universe Can't Keep Us Apart

by ThanksForListening



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, also ive been watching a LOT of the great british baking show, but not a lot!, hi im emotional about gina and jake's relationship, just a tad of post-prison angst, post 6x03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 12:24:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17601317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThanksForListening/pseuds/ThanksForListening
Summary: Amy finds Jake unable to sleep after his high school reunion.





	The Universe Can't Keep Us Apart

When she felt the bed empty beside her, Amy panicked. She couldn’t help it — ever since he’d been sent to prison, when she’d spent night after night starting at his side of the bed, wondering if he’d ever come back, she’s always seemed to sense when he wasn’t there. Even now she wakes up in a sweat, terrified that she had only dreamed his return, that she’ll open her eyes to discover he’s still rotting in a cell. 

Sitting up in bed, she relaxed as she heard the sound of the tv, the muffled British accents telling her exactly what kind of night it was. 

He was only halfway through the episode of The Great British Bake-Off when she walked up behind him. “What are you doing up?” She asked, yawning. 

“Just couldn’t sleep,” he said, eyes focused on the contestants struggling to finish their challenge in time. 

Amy walked over and sat down next to him. As she grabbed his hand, he leaned into her shoulder with a content sigh. They’d spent countless nights in this position when he got back from prison, when nightmares had kept both of them from getting a full night's sleep. He usually woke her, though, either intentionally or unintentionally. It was rare now for him to go off by himself. 

She waited until the episode ended before she sat up and turned to face him. “Are you gonna tell me what’s really bothering you?”

“Nothing's bothering me,” he mumbled, “just couldn’t sleep. For totally normal reasons.”

“Mmhm,” she said, “and you’re watching Bake-Off for normal reasons too?” He looked at her, confused. “I know you, Jake,” she continued, “it's your comfort show. You only watch it when you don’t want to think anymore”.

“Or,” he said, “I watch it because it’s delightful and a welcome change from the overstimulated, stressful competitive nature of American cooking shows.” 

“Jake.”

“Ok, fine,” He sighed, “I’m watching it because of your reason.” 

She reached for his hand. “Jake, whatever it is, you can talk to me.” 

He looked back down, but didn’t let go of her hand. “It’s stupid,” he said, “I just — being back at that school, and then telling Gina she needs to move on, it made me realize how much I’ve come to rely on her always being with me. I mean, we were practically raised together. We went to school together, we worked together — I literally haven’t done anything without her.”

“You’ve done stuff without her,” Amy said, thinking for a moment. “Like the Academy! Gina wasn’t with you there!”

“We lived in Nana’s apartment together, Ames” he said, “she only moved out once she got the job at the 99.” 

“Okay,” Amy said slowly, “well, just because she won’t work here anymore doesn’t mean you won’t ever see her again. You’re best friends, Jake. Plus, you’re her baby’s godfather. She’s not just going to disappear forever.”

“I know that, but I still…” he waited for a moment. “I’m scared, Amy. I got so used to relying on her always being with me and now I don’t know what to do.” 

“It’s ok to be scared, Jake.”

“No, Amy, it’s not,” he said, “because it’s not like I’m some dumb college student who doesn’t know how to live alone or anything. I’m an adult! I’m married! I’m supposed to have this stuff figured out by now, but I feel like I’m 18 all over again.” 

“Hey,” she said, “look at me.” She reached up and put her hands around his face. “You are entitled to everything you’re feeling right now. So what if you’re an adult? We were adults when we got married, and I was still terrified. Weren’t you?”

He laughed, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, I kept thinking that we weren’t that lucky, that the universe was going to try to stop us or something. Which,” he added, “it kind of did.”

She laughed now, and watched as a real smile crept across his face. “Yeah, that’s true. But look at where we are — the universe itself couldn’t stop us.”

He leaned into her, the sound of Netflix replaying previews over and over acting as the only source of noise. He sat with her for a moment, before quietly adding “I’m still scared, Ames. I don’t want to do this without her. I don’t want to be alone. ”

“First of all, you don’t have to do anything alone,” she said, “because I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. And it’s ok to be scared,” she added, “no matter how old you are, new things are always going to be scary. We’ll be adults when we have kids, and that’ll terrify us. We’ll be even older adults when those kids leave the house, and that’ll probably scare us even more. Being afraid doesn’t mean you’re weak, it just means you care.” 

He looked up at her, and she smiled. The way he looked at her — like she put the sun in the sky, like she was perfect even when she knew she wasn’t — she’d never get tired of that look. 

“How did I marry the smartest woman alive?” He asked. 

She kissed his forehead. “You got lucky,” she said with a smile. 

He laughed, and helped her off the couch. As they made their way back to their bedroom, she thought about the man she had met all those years ago, thought about who _she_ was all those years ago. So much had happened to lead them to where they were now, to make them the people they had become. She made a mental reminder to thank Gina later, for unknowingly doing her part to lead Jake to the 99, and more importantly, to her. “I love you,” she said, “so much.”

“I love you, too” He said, “so much”. He got into bed, and as she laid down next to him, she thought that this was where they belonged — side by side, hand in hand. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> hi i thrive on validation! comments and kudos are v much appreciated! also i hope this was alright i've never written these two before (only ever written two fanfics including this one) so let me know what you think! also you can find me on tumblr and yell about brooklyn 99 with me @Thanks--for--listening


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